Exodus 22:8

8 If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor's valuables.

Exodus 22:8 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 22:8

If the thief be not found
And so no account can be given of the goods deposited, what is become of them, and it becomes a doubtful case whether they have been stolen or embezzled, and there is suspicion of the latter:

then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges:
here called Elohim, gods, because they were God's vicegerents, and represented him, and acted under his power and authority; and who at this present were Moses, and those that judged the people under him, and afterwards the seventy elders, and all such who in succeeding times were judges in Israel, and bore the office of civil magistrates; before these the master of the house, or the person who had any goods committed to his care, and they were lost, was to be brought and put to his oath, and upon it examined, in order to find out what was become of the goods committed to him: to see whether he has put his hand to his neighbour's goods: took them to himself, made use of them, or disposed of them to his own advantage, and which was no other than a kind of theft.

Exodus 22:8 In-Context

6 "Whenever a fire starts and spreads into the underbrush so that it burns up stacked or standing grain or ruins a field, the person who started the fire must make up for the loss.

7 "This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor silver or [other] valuables to keep for him, and they are stolen from that person's house: If the thief is caught, he must make up for the loss with double the amount.

8 If the thief is not caught, the owner of the house must be brought to God to find out whether or not he took his neighbor's valuables.

9 If there is a dispute over the ownership of a bull, a donkey, a sheep, an article of clothing, or any [other] lost property which two people claim as their own, both people must bring their case to God. The one whom God declares guilty must make up for his neighbor's loss with double the amount.

10 "This is what you must do whenever someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses.